Gita : Ch-6. Slo-47.

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita :


Chapter-6. ( Dhyana-yogam )


Slokam-47. (   Amongst all yogi's or those perfected in the science of the individual consciousness attaining communion with the ultimate consciousness who are engaged in yama, niyama or self control etc. Lord Krishna is declaring that His devotee is superior to even the greatest yogi. One who is possessed of full faith in Him as the Supreme Lord of all, with their mind focused within and relishing meditation on Him is the greatest yogi of all. Therefore be Lord Krishna's devotee is the purport.


yoginamapi    sarvesham    madhgatenantratmana,


sraddhavan    bhajate   yo    mam    sa    me    yuktatamo    matah.



madhgatena    antratmana   =   fixing firmly  chittah   in  me  (deeply   dedicated    to    me,   is   always    thinking    of   me   within);

yah   mam    bhajate    sah   =   who    worships    me,   he;

sarvesham    yoginam   api   =   out    of    all    yogi-s;

yuktatamah   =   ( he   is  )   top    most    yogi;

me    matah   =   ( it   is   )     my   opinion.



From the previous verse the word yogi means one perfecting the science of the individual consciousness attaining communion with the ultimate consciousness. The word jnanibhyo means the worshipers of the Brahman or the spiritual substratum pervading all existence. The word tapasvibhyo means the performers of rituals and austerities. Superior even to these different types of yogis is one who has achieved atma tattva or realisation of the soul. The Garuda Purans states that: In comparison to all yogis and aspirants, meditation on Lord Krishna or His Vedically authorised incarnations is 100,000 times superior to meditation on others. In the Narada Purana it states: Meditation with knowledge of the Supreme Lord Krishna is infinitely superior to meditation without knowledge of the Supreme Lord Krishna. Better than even meditation with knowledge of the Supreme Lord Krishna is direct perception of the Supreme Lord Krishna. Better than even direct perception of the Supreme Lord Krishna is communion with devotion to the Supreme Lord Krishna.

After declaring that a yogi or one perfecting the science of the individual consciousness attaining communion with the ultimate consciousness is the best of all ascetics and others mentioned in the previous verse. Lord Krishna concludes this chapter by declaring that the yogi which is best of all is the one who is endowed with faith implicitly following the instructions of the bonafide spiritual master in Vedically authorised disciple succession and devoted wholeheartedly to worshipping internally and externally Lord Krishna, the Supreme Lord above all Lords, the ocean of unlimited auspicious attributes such eternity, knowledge and bliss as well as affection, compassion and mercy, who is the refuge of all, the bestower of all benedictions and auspiciousness, the destroyer of all obstacles and impediments , who incarnated as Himself in His original spiritual form. Lord Krishna is the primal cause of all creation and the ultimate controller of all living beings. Lord Krishna is described by names like Paramesvara the Supreme Controller, Bhagavan the possessor of all opulences and potencies, Purusa the highest personality etc. as well as names like Govinda meaning He who is the object of delight for the cows and the senses, and Vasudeva or He who is all pervading and from whom everything manifests, and Hari meaning He who dissolves all in auspiciousness and captures by love the hearts of His devotees. Lord Krishna Incarnates to fulfill the aspirations of His devotees who are constantly worshipping Him by adoration, salutation, meditation etc. with their minds concentrated solely in exclusive devotion to the omniscient and omnipotent Supreme Lord Krishna without ever any desire for anything in return for their devotion. Such thoughts spontaneously arise in the mind by the teachings of the bonafide spiritual master in authorised disciplic succession, whom one has the grace to serve as a result of abundant meritorious activities performed in innumerable previous births. This person is immersed internally upon the Supreme Lord Krishna with exclusive devotion. Such a person is considered to be the most elevated and the best of all yogis. The understanding is that Lord Krishna is advising Arjuna to also become the best of all yogis.

The genitive case of the word yoginam has the force of the ablative case yogibhyah iwhich means of all types of yogis or those perfecting the science of the individual consciousness attaining communion with the ultimate consciousness. Thus yoginam means more than just being a yogi, it means being a special yogi above and beyond and superior to all other yogi's including the four yogi's described in verse twenty-nine beginning with sarva-bhuta-stham atmanam which refers to the yogi who perceives the soul in all beings. Verse thirty beginning with yo mam pasyati sarvatra which refers to the yogi who sees the Supreme Lord in everything. Verse thirty-one beginning with sarva-bhuta-sthitam which refers to the yogi who realises the Supreme Lord as non-different from the atma or soul. Verse thirty-two beginning with atmaupamyena sarvatra which refers to the yogi who perceives the atma as all pervading consciousness activating everything. As the yogi indicated in this verse does not fall into one of the four mentioned classifications the genitive case does not have the power to place this yogi into one of those classes. The words api sarvesam meaning amongst all types refers to those additional yogis indicated in this verse which follow the yoga paths of karma, jnana, tapasya, astanga etc. Likewise also the genitive case of the word sarvesam meaning of all types, has the force of the ablative case which indicates this special yogi is a bhakta or loving devotee of the Supreme Lord and thus greater than all other yogis. In comparison with this special yogi all other yogi's being inferior can be grouped into a single class. The comparison between that special yogi and the single class of all the other yogi's is like designating the special yogi as the Himmalaya's and all other yogi's as a handful of mustard seeds. Between one seed and another upon close introspection differences certainly exist; but such differences between seeds cannot be compared to the difference between the seeds and the Himmalaya's. In the word atmana is the word manas meaning giving one's heart, mind, body and soul in devotion over flowing with love to the Supreme Lord. This dedication is extraordinary and glorifies and distinguishes one from out of all other yogi's.

Antar-atmana equates to the innermost manas being the atma which monitors all internal and external experiences. So over powered by love of God this special yogi is unable to even maintain his very existence without the assistance of the Supreme Lord. In this way he is always one with Him.

Sraddhavan means with earnestness and faith in the Vedic scriptures taught by the spiritual master. The earnestness of desire to worship the Supreme Lord Krishna comes from an intrinsic impulse which impels this special yogi to find Him. The intensity of yearning love that this special yogi has for the Supreme Lord is such that one is unable to tolerate even a moments separation from Him.

The Supreme Lord to whom the emanations, sustenations and imaginations of the cosmos abounding in unlimited, diverse variegated objects of enjoyments and enjoyers through the medium of the physical body and the senses is but creative sport.

The Supreme Lord the treasure chest of myriad groups of glorious attributes, who possesses all jnana or knowledge meaning cognition in all things in every respect every moment, all bala or power meaning supports, maintains and controls everything, all aisvarya or dominion means unaided and undaunted the most powerful, all tejas or luster means self manifested effulgence, all virya or energy means never exhausted or ending, all saktis or potencies means phenomenal miracles and pastime and on an on, etc. etc. etc.

The Supreme Lord whose Divine rupa or form is a synthesis of everything which is glorious and beautiful. Who is inconceivable, transcendental, eternal, imperishable, phenomenal, possessing phenomenal qualities such as aujjvalya or full radiance, sundarya or full beauty, gandhya or full fragrance, lavanya or full grace and yauvana or full youth and who is the antithesis to all that is evil.

The Supreme Lord's essence, qualities and attributes are beyond the ability of the mind to conceive in vision and extol in speech.

The Supreme Lord is the unlimited, majestic and resplendent ocean of compassion, magnanimity, mercy and love.

The Supreme Lord is the sole saviour and refuge of all the worlds, who mitigates and relieves the oppression of distress for those who make supplication to Him, who is the only object of total love from His devotees, who can become theophanous and ocularly visible to all persons.

The Supreme Lord who appeared incarnate in the material existence in His own original divine and spiritual form, who illuminates all of creation by the infinitely sublime glory of His bodily effulgence, who maintains and preserves all of creation and fills all with gladness by the resplendent glory of His Divine self.

Whosoever meditates on the Supreme Lord Krishna in this manner He keeps most near to Him as they are most dear to Him and are the most estimable and elevated above all others.

Because the Supreme Lord Krishna is eternally omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent knowing past, present and future what He speak is always the absolute truth for all eternity.

Superior to austerities and penance is meditation. Better than meditation without realisation is meditation with realisation. For those who meditate with realisation that are not devotees of Lord Krishna or His Vedically authorised incarnations, whatever they meditate on has no efficacy. The persons who see similarity between other gods and the Supreme Lord Krishna, the persons who do not see Lord Krishna as superior to all other gods, the persons who believe other gods to be more elevated than the Supreme Lord Krishna, those person who are indifferent to the Supreme Lord Krishna and those persons who are irreverent and spiteful to the Supreme Lord Krishna are all classified as non-devotees. Among the devotees who do not possess the offensive mentality previously elucidated. Those special devotees who worship the Supreme Lord Krishna exclusively with love and devotion are the most elevated of all. Sri Dattatreya a lila avatar or incarnation of the Supreme Lord Krishna states: The Supreme Lord is installed directly in the center of a Vaisnava or Brahmana family as the leading member and is thus lovingly and devotedly worshiped as such.

I worship the Supreme Lord Krishna, the embodiment of supreme bliss, the treasure of those following the path of devotion, who taught the yoga of the atma or soul to the greatest of devotees

Thus ends the first group of six chapters of the Karma Yoga section comprised of the teachings on the nature of the atma or soul, meditation on the atma after controlling the senses and the mind while developing detachment and renunciation. In this sixth chapter Lord Krishna spoke of detachment leading to renunciation and the cessation of activities with desire for rewards through yoga as the means to moksa. Also instructions were given regarding the atma's relation to all other atma's as well as to the Supreme Lord because to become the best of all yogis, atma tattva or realisation of the soul is essential being the most intimate and exclusive means to attain the Supreme Lord. Finally in conclusion Lord Krishna revealed the unassailable superiority of His devotee,

End of Chapter-6.

Next :Chapter-7. ( Jnana-Vijnana-Yogam )

To be continued  ......